Susan G. Komen of Southwest Michigan

Prior to becoming a Komen Affiliate, the first Komen Southwest Michigan Race for the Cure® was held in 1996 in Battle Creek Michigan. That first Race for the Cure® generated $10,000. Those funds were used to support our first grant award to a breast cancer screening program in Calhoun County.

In 1998 a grass roots effort lead by founding president, Toni Freed, resulted in the Southwest Michigan Affiliate of Susan G. Komen for the Cure, with a service area that included Calhoun and Kalamazoo counties.

Further growth took place in 2001 when the Affiliate expanded to include eight counties in Southwest Michigan: Allegan, Berrien, Branch, Calhoun, Cass, Kalamazoo, Saint Joseph and Van Buren.

Since the initial Race for the Cure®, the Affiliate has awarded more than $2,000,000 in local grants to fill gaps in breast health education, breast cancer screening and treatment programs in Southwest Michigan. 2014 will mark the 18th Komen Southwest Michigan Race for the Cure, now held each year in Kalamazoo.